Transatlantic Partnership for the Global Future

The Transatlantic Partnership for the Global Future brings together experts from government, business, academia, and the science and technology communities to address critical global challenges and assess their effects on the future of transatlantic relations. The Partnership is a collaboration between the Brent Scowcroft Center on international Security’s Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative and the Government of Sweden. Together, we seek to make foresight actionable by connecting long-term trends to current challenges to inform policy and strategy choices.

High Powered Panel Discusses What Asia's Rise Will Look Like by 2025

"In the future, the GDP of China, Japan, and India will be greater than that of the US and the EU", noted Hans-Christian Hagman, director of strategic analysis for the Government of Sweden, warning that the world eleven years from now will inherently look different than today's world. On October 7, as part of their ongoing "Transatlantic Partnership for the Global Future" project with the Government of Sweden, the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security's Strategic Foresight Initiative hosted a number of panels on the theme Transatlantic Interests in the Asia Pacific in 2025. During the discussion titled "Outlook to 2025: The Transatlantic Partnership in Asia," panelists Hans-Christian Hagman, Kathleen Hicks, Leo Michel, Shuja Nawaz, and moderator Mathew Burrows attempted to forecast out to 2025 the geopolitical shifts and ripples of Asia's upcoming economic and political rise.

On October 7, as part of the Transatlantic Interests in Asia Pacific in 2025 conference, the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security in conjunction with the Swedish Foreign Ministry, hosted Helena Sangeland, deputy director general and head of the Department for Asia and the Pacific Region of the Swedish Foreign Ministry for a roundtable discussion on Europe's engagement in the Asia-Pacific region. In her remarks, Ms. Sangeland noted that although the United States and Europe have "different approaches in the region...[we] have shared interests...[and] we can make those approaches work together."

“Geoff Dyer Discusses the Rise of China and the Implications it Will Have on US and European Interests”

The second panel of the Atlantic Council's "Transatlantic Interests in the Asia Pacific in 2025" conference titled "The Rise of China – The True Game Changer", featured noted Financial Times' journalist Geoff Dyer in conversation with moderator Roger Cliff, nonresident senior fellow in the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security. In his talk, Mr. Dyer discussed the major implications of the rise of China and the United States' and Europe's response. He reminded the audience how China's activities over the past couple of years have been causing "hairline fractures" in the global order that protects US interests in the Asia Pacific. Each action taken by China does not standalone as a major event, but over time these events compile into a significant pattern and showcase China's influence is this rising region. Mr. Dyer noted that Russia and China are often associated together in their attempts to expand their sphere of influence, but this is not necessarily the case. Russia, Mr. Dyer believes, is playing a losing hand, whereas China is drawing ever closer to becoming the number one economy on the planet.

Given Russia's continuing destabilization of Ukraine, President Obama began the month of June in Europe reaching out to reassure America's European allies of the United States and NATO's resolute commitment to the defense and security of Europe. The President's trip to Poland, Belgium, and France culminated in the announcement of the European Reassurance Initiative. This initiative commits up to one billion dollars for increased exercises, training, and rotational presence across Europe with an emphasis on the Eastern territory of NATO's newer allies. Overlapping with Obama's trip, NATO also held its final defense ministerial meeting before the Wales Summit in September. This ministerial was a last chance for NATO's defense ministers to discuss themes for the upcoming summit.

This report, authored by Senior Fellow Robert A. Manning, was written for the Transatlantic Partnership for the Global Future, a project organized in cooperation with the Government of Sweden, to bring together experts from government, business, and academia to address critical questions relating emerging technologies to global challenges and explore their effects on transatlantic relations in the near- and long-term.

This FutureScape issue brief, authored by Senior Fellows Peter Engelke and Robert A. Manning, is the first in a series related to The Transatlantic Partnership for the Global Future, a project organized in cooperation with the Government of Sweden, to bring together experts from government, business, and academia to address critical questions relating emerging technologies to global challenges and explore their effects on transatlantic relations in the near- and long-term.

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The Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative (FSR) provides actionable foresight and innovative strategies to a global community of policymakers, business leaders, and citizens. Using cutting-edge tools like data analytics, scenario modeling, and simulation exercises, as well as engaging experts and the public, FSR makes clear how today’s weak signals become the driving force in tomorrow’s reality.Learn MoreOur Staff